


The Sea Princess

by Reila_Flowers



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Little Mermaid Elements, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22632307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reila_Flowers/pseuds/Reila_Flowers
Summary: Ariel was a princess by birth but she didn't often think of herself as royal blood. She certainly didn't want to behave like a princess, preferring to raid the humans ships than be a member of the court. It was on one fateful raid that a human spotted her and her identity as a mermaid was revealed. Fearing disaster, Ariel does all that is in her power to put things right.
Kudos: 1





	The Sea Princess

**Author's Note:**

> This is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, with just a few twists that it isn't quite the story you will be familiar with.

The princess checked that her knifes were secured tightly to her woven seaweed belt, not wanting to make a fool of herself by losing her weapons from sheer negligence. That would not do but she was cautious enough that such an event was unlikely to happen. Smiling at the thought of the haul waiting for her, she swam upwards with just a few powerful strokes of her long tail and joined the other merfolk waiting for her.

“There’s a ship to the south,” One of her scouts informed the princess in a series of clicks, much like how the dolphins talked to each other. “There’s a prince on board which surely means treasure!”

“How exciting,” The princess agreed, her thoughts on the treasures that waited for her up above. Longingly she stared upwards, towards the silver light of the ocean surface, thinking it was no coincidence that the sea was that colour when looked at from below. On land was where the true riches were to be found and if the humans were stupid enough to put their riches on boats, they were just asking for it to be taken. “I’m cutting the boat myself.”

“Ariel!” One of her royal guards complained, a loyal merman who valued human treasure almost as much as the princess herself. “Don’t you think somebody else could take a turn? You cut the last ship and the one before that.” 

“I’m the leader, I get to cut the ship.” Ariel answered, smiling her infamous smile. It was a smile that could make grown men tremble but to her companion’s credit he didn’t look scared. Her guard reluctantly agreed to allow Ariel to have the honour and so with that matter sorted, the small pod of merfolk made their way southwards.

A family of dolphins swam close by for part of their journey and the merfolk did their best to keep up. With lungs burning for air, though they could breathe water if they choose, they breached the surface with their cousins, waving goodbye as the dolphins swam away. Ariel wondered if these dolphins were indeed related to herself, for every mermaid knew that their existence came from the unnatural union of dolphins and Poseidon. They were all abominations, existing outside of nature until they became a species of their own. Who was she to judge the choices of the Great Sea God? Poseidon was their Great Father and the only deity that the merfolk worshiped. The princess sometimes wondered if perhaps she was not as loyal to the god as she should be, for her heart had always been filled with the thoughts of human riches. Some gemstones would be nice, rubies to wear in her hair perhaps, they would make her already stunning red locks shine all the brighter.

She saw the shadow of the ship and ordered her friends to swim upwards, the small pod breaching the surface and taking in their target. Even from this distance she could see that it wasn’t a large ship but it was in good condition and travelling quickly across the ocean surface.

“I was hoping for more.” One of the mermaids complained but Ariel ignored her complaints. Didn’t they say that the most precious presents came in the smallest packages?

“You know the drill, let the ship sink before collecting anything that floats.” Ariel ordered. With a flick of her deep green tail she swam towards the bottom of the ship, looking for a weak point to exploit. The wood looked new and was strong to the touch, even her sharp knifes were struggling to break through. Frustrated she tried again, finally breaking a small hole in the boat.

“Princess, we need to hurry.” Her guard begged. He hadn’t listened to her, there was no rush to sink this ship. Ariel was about to complain but before she could the merman had widened her small hole into a large gash. She’d get him fired for this subordination but for now they both swam away, waiting for the ship to fill with water and sink to the ocean floor.

“Why did you do that?” Ariel demanded angrily. “I told you I was cutting the boat.”

“We would have been here all day.” The guard retorted. He was always so arrogant and self-assured and often acted like the opinions of the princess were of no consequences to him. Ariel had never been sure what to make of Dominic, he was handsome she supposed, but that could infuritate her just as easily as his temperament. He enjoyed the raids though, that was something to his credit at least. Angrily Ariel glared at him, about to say something more but stopped by a large cracking sound from above. The boat was breaking in two! Perhaps not as well built as it had appeared? Well that didn’t matter, the humans would board their lifeboats as they always did and she would be all the richer.

“That was your fault, if one of us gets impaled by broken wood I will make sure you take the blame.” Ariel informed the merman, swimming upwards to see the damage for herself. It was a dangerous risk to take but she was too angry to stay with her pod below.

She savoured the chaos of men shouting as their ship sunk, knowing that this was all because of her. It was truly unfair that these men had everything they could ever desire, whilst the merfolk had nothing but seaweed and shells. She hated the men of the land. Such was the extent of her envy.

A pair of eyes the colour of the sky landed on the princess, making her freeze in surprise. The man on the ship had spotted her and she darted quickly back beneath the waves. What was she to do? It was against the law to reveal yourself to a human but wasn’t that what she had just done? Perhaps the man believed he had simply imagined her? Humans were so sure they didn’t exist that it wouldn’t be the first time they denied their existence, even after seeing a mermaid with their very own eyes.

Nervously she tightened the grip on her knife, watching from below as the ship broke apart. Already items were beginning to sink beneath the surface, her pod of merfolk grabbing those that held value or particular interest. She should be helping them she thought, even as she swam back to the surface. She scanned the chaos of the shipwreck, the humans mostly on their lifeboats but not the man who had spotted her. He was standing on the remains of the ship, scanning the ocean urgently as another human tried to get him to leave.

“Your highness, you need to get on a lifeboat!” A human encouraged him, fear evident in his eyes. The prince, because surely that was who the blue-eyed man was, looked panicked but not for his own life.

“There was a girl in the water,” The prince explained. “With hair as red as the petals of a rose and eyes like sapphires. She was beautiful.”

“With all due respect, if this girl exists, she’d be in serious trouble,” The prince’s companion remarked. As his gaze began to search the water, Ariel hid behind some broken wood. A girl, not a mermaid, had the prince not seen her tail? That was great news, she now longer had to worry. “I think you’ve been drinking too much.” He continued to scold the prince. Drinking? Did they mean alcohol? That would please her people. They had learnt the joys of drinking the special human beverages that made you so giddy with joy that it took over your senses. How merry they had been the last time they had found a ship carrying the nectar.

“Perhaps I have.” The prince agreed, finally leaving to go to his lifeboat. Satisfied her dilemma was over, Ariel rushed to tell her pod the good news. Happily she began to collect the sinking treasure in the net she carried, delighted by this haul. It was one of the best they had had in a long time, surely worth whatever trouble she was going to get in for being late to her father’s birthday party. She had rushed out the moment she had heard of the planned raid.

“Where’s the drink?” Dominic demanded. She was still angry with him, disliking his attitude towards her even more.

“The bottles often float.” Ariel reminded him, scanning the surface and spotting exactly what they had been looking for. “There’s some!”

“We should wait for the lifeboats to leave.” He warned her, but Ariel was already swimming towards her target. Happily she began to place the bottles in her bag, freezing in shock as a cry came from behind her.

“She’s there!” The prince cried out, had he still been still looking for her? Why? He’d sounded convinced before that she had just been hid drunken imagination.

“I don’t think…” The prince’s companion began to protest, but Ariel didn’t hear the rest as she darted beneath the surface. She gave a warning to her pod to swim deeper in a series of frantic clicks. She was in trouble now. Perhaps he would still think of her as just a girl?

A splash from above startled her and she glanced back to find the prince was swimming after her. What was he thinking? Did he think she was drowning? He was a fool, who risked their life for a stranger like this?

It occurred to Ariel that the man had gone to deep. He wasn’t going to reach the surface before he ran out of air. Perhaps she should leave him here to drown? It would save her the trouble of having to protect her secret. She stopped swimming, allowing the prince to take in her form and watched as surprise turned to shock, as he figured out she wasn’t a human girl. It was perhaps then that he realised he was drowning for his shock turned to panic. Desperately he tried to swim upwards but both man and mermaid knew he would never reach the surface alone.

‘Let him die, it’s the sensible thing to do.’ Ariel thought, even as she wrapped her arm around the prince’s waist and swam upwards as fast as she could manage with the human in her arms. They broke the surface together, the prince gasping for air as Ariel helped him towards a large piece of wood floating nearby. His men wouldn’t leave their prince, she decided, hearing the shouts not too far away.

“Who are you?” The prince asked. In a series of clicks the prince couldn’t understand she tried to explain. Realising it was futile, Ariel darted back beneath the waves and continued her raiding mission with a heavy heart. She had risked everyone’s safety tonight. She could only hope that the prince’s drunken state would prevent anyone from believing what he had seen that night.

Ariel slipped back into the palace, hurrying to her rooms to get ready for the show she was supposed to be performing in with her brothers and sisters. Had she made it in time? She hoped so, father would be so angry if she had missed it.

“So there you are!” An angry voice bellowed from behind her. “Where do you think you have been? Do you realise what a fool you made of your family tonight?”

“Father, I can explain,” She tried to reason with the angry king. His temper was well known, as quick as her own anger, when the king lost his cool you did not mess with him. “There was an emergency and…”

“You’ve been sinking ships again, haven’t you?” The King accused. “We’ve talked about this. It’s too risky, it’s not fitting of a princess, what if you’re spotted by a human? Do you want to risk our whole kingdom with the wrath humans always bring? It’s my birthday Ariel! The one day I ask you to attend the royal court and you disappoint me yet again! What am I supposed to do with you?”

“Father…” Ariel began but her father’s lecture had only just begun. Sheepishly she listened to his angry words knowing that she deserved them. She had risked their kingdom but there was no way she could admit that to her father. He was so angry at her, worse, he was disappointed. As he screamed at her, several of her sisters came to watch. They were upset with her too, she had ruined their dance routine, ruined their songs, she had ruined everything.

“You’re grounded! Go to your room and don’t you dare come out!” Her father finally screamed at her. Relieved to be given an escape, Ariel darted to her bedroom and fell onto her bed to cry. She hated it here! Hated how easy her father was to anger, how ridiculous her sisters’ expectations of her were. Was it so wrong to want to have fun?

Her sorrow was spurred on with guilt, as she remembered the man with the eyes of the sky. She had to figure out what he was planning, if her kingdom here under the sea was truly in danger. He hadn’t seemed to be a cruel human but humans were deceptive. They saw a mermaid and quickly their awe turned to fear or envy of what they had. Had her foolishness started a war?

“You brought this upon yourself, princess.” The voice of a familiar guard remarked as he entered her room without permission. Ariel turned to glare at him, anger building within her.

“Why did you cut the boat? I had it and you had to interfere.” Ariel snapped at him.

“Why did you have to breach the surface and get caught?” Dominic questioned. It was true, her crime was worse than his, but it didn’t make her any less angry.

“I’m going to fix that.” Ariel declared, not at all sure how she could.

“How?” The guard asked. “Are you planning to visit The Sea Witch so that she can grant you the ability to visit the human world?”

“She can do that?” Ariel asked surprised.

“So I’ve heard,” Her guard confirmed. “She can give you legs, the ability to speak like the humans and then you can go and find out what damage you’ve done. Perhaps you’ll be lucky and nobody believed whatever human saw you.”

“Oh Dominic, I could just kiss you!” Ariel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the dark-haired merman. She no longer hated him, was no longer angry, he had given her the answer she needed.

“Well that wouldn’t be proper,” Dominic said, watching as Ariel went to open her window. “I won’t take you there. You’re on your own.”

“I’ll be fine.” Ariel declared, slipping out of her room and swimming fast in fear she may just be caught. Visiting The Sea Witch was a crime far worse than anything she had done up to now, but what choice did she have? She could hardly tell her father what she had done and he was the only other person she knew who possessed the magic necessary to transform her body as she required. They said The Sea Witch was wicked and cruel, taking more than she gave but Ariel didn’t feel any fear as she swam towards the caves far from her own home. The Sea Witch was her aunt Ursula, surely she would be happy to see her niece? It was Ursula who had taught her how to raid ships, way back when Ariel was very young and The Sea Witch hadn’t been banished from their kingdom. She should have thought to ask Ursula already, what was it that had made her forget her connection to her own aunt? Could it be her father had cast some kind of spell on her memories? It was just like him to do such a thing! Spurred on by anger, she swam on, desperate to see her dear aunt at long last.

Ursula’s home wasn’t at all what Ariel had expected. She’d assumed her aunt lived in luxury with everything a royal would expect, instead she lived in dark caves that hardly seemed to see the light. Nervously Ariel floated by the cave entrance, before gathering her courage and swimming inside calling her aunt’s name.

“Ariel dear, is that you?” A female voice called from the darkness.

“Yes!” Ariel exclaimed, swimming towards the voice but finding nobody there.

“You’ve grown quite beautiful,” Ursula remarked. “I bet all the boys chase after you.”

“They follow me, girls too, I’m quite frightful on a raid I’d have you know,” Ariel boasted, turning towards where Ursula’s voice had come from. It was then that she lay eyes on her aunt, gasping in horror at the way Ursula’s tail had been split upwards into pieces. She looked more like an octopus than a mermaid, her broken body swimming slowly along the ocean floor. “Who crippled you!” She exclaimed, darting to Ursula’s side in sympathy.

“I don’t want to scare you with dark stories,” Ursula answered, she was avoiding the question but Ariel decided not to push it. It was obvious that some tragedy had come to her dear aunt. “Now tell me, why are you here? You wouldn’t risk your father’s wrath for no good reason.”

“It’s true, I do need your help,” Ariel admitted. “On my last raid a human man saw me, a prince. I need to get to his palace, find out what he knows or else who knows what evils the humans may do to our kind.”

“I see,” Ursula said thoughtfully. “This prince, do you know where he came from?”

“Well no,” Ariel admitted. “I know nothing about him other than the name of his ship, The Zealous Lion. Do you know what a Lion is?”

“A beast of the land, I know just which royals use it for their symbol. I think, and forgive me if I am wrong, that your prince is none other than Prince Eric.” Ursula declared. Eric, it seemed such a simple name for such a magnificent and handsome man, Ariel thought as she watched her aunt begin to prepare ingredients for her spell. Nervously she followed her aunt’s orders, pleased to find Ursula seemed to know exactly what to do. Finally they were ready and she was handed the potion that she would need to consume when she reached the beach.

“One more thing,” Ursula said as she handed over a second potion bottle. “Poison, just in case Prince Eric does mean to start a war.”

“You think I should assassinate him?” Ariel asked, horrified by the idea.

“I think you should talk to him, charm him with your beauty, ensure that he believes that mermaids were nothing but his imagination playing tricks at sea,” Ursula answered. “A smart girl like you won’t need to use that potion, I’m sure. But just in case…”

“Just in case.” Ariel agreed. Thanking her aunt for her help and promising Ursula she would visit her again, once everything had been resolved.

“I wouldn’t recommended that, your father has always been jealous of my power. He’d hated that his beloved daughter loved me as a child, would hate it even more to know she still cares for me now.” Ursula declared. Was that why Ursula had been banished, jealousy? It was true that the king was quick to anger, full of wrath, but Ariel had never seen him jealous of anyone before. Perhaps though, if she or her sisters had his power, then things may have been different.

“I will come back.” Ariel declared stubbornly. For all her aunt’s help, it was the least she could do.

Pulling herself up onto the sand she drank from the potion vial, crying out in pain as her tail began to split in two. It hurt, far worse than any pain she had ever experienced before. She may have blacked out for the next thing she knew she was waking up lying in the sand with a dog’s face in hers. Startled she tried to swim away, forgetting she was on land and no longer had a tail. Terrified she couldn’t escape, she used her arms to pull herself back as a man called the dog away from her. It was cold on land, Ariel thought as she began to shiver uncontrollably. Wrapping her arms around her body she brought her knees up to her chest, the only part of her to be wearing clothes she realised knowing this was wrong. Humans covered their bodies with an assortment of fabrics, what would this man think of her in such a state of undress. Nervously she glanced towards the dog and his owner, shocked to see a familiar pair of eyes like the sky. Eric, if that was his name, had been the man walking along the beach with just the company of his dog and a couple of guards.

“There’s a girl!” The prince exclaimed, rushing to Ariel’s side as he pulled off his coat. The fabric was draped over her naked form, hiding her from the prying eyes of these men. Was the human body really so abhorrent that it must be covered at all times? Perhaps so, Ariel couldn’t get over how ugly her legs were when compared to her beautiful tail. “Are you hurt?”

“Hurt?” Ariel repeated, finding her mouth could now form the human words. Was she hurt? She had been in immense pain but that was gone now. Curiously she tried to stand, gasping in pain as her new legs failed to hold her weight. She was exposing herself again, she realised as the coat was once again draped over her.

“Don’t stand, you’ll be all right,” The prince reassured her, ordering one of his guards to get help he finally took in the bedraggled appearance of the girl he had found. “You look familiar, have we met before?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Ariel lied. Up close the prince was even more handsome than he had been aboard his ship. Why was her heart beating so fast in his presence? Perhaps she was still experiencing the adrenaline rush her fear of the dog had brought on? “I think I would remember you.”

“I’m Eric,” The prince said, confirming Ursula’s guess, “I’m the prince here. Is it all right if we take you to my palace while you heal from whatever happened to you. Was it a shipwreck? I was in one myself just the other day but fortunately we had lifeboats and nobody was lost.”

“I think so, I can’t remember,” Ariel said deceptively. “I’m Ariel.”

“Ariel?” Eric repeated, “I’ve never heard such a pretty name before. I like it.”

“No girls in this kingdom share my name?” Ariel asked rather surprise. Being a traditionally royal name, many mermaids shared her name back home.

“No, none,” Eric said, giving Ariel a suspicious look. “We have met before! You’re the girl from the shipwreck!”

“What girl?” Ariel asked, startled to have been recognised.

“The girl, with brilliant red hair, that was you!” Eric exclaimed, glancing at his guard for support. His companion merely shrugged and mimicked drinking something when the prince’s back was turned. So, even his closest men didn’t believe his stories of the mermaid he had seen? That was great news, she merely had to wait for three days and the spell over her would end and she could return home. She wondered what she would tell her father, but pushed the thought aside. He’d probably just assume she had ran away from home, like she had done twice before.

“It can’t be, we’ve never met,” Ariel corrected him. “You just see similarities in our hair, that’s all.”

“No, it’s you!” Eric exclaimed. “The mermaid who saved me.”

“Your highness, you’re scaring this poor woman,” His guard scolded him. “She’s clearly been though enough without you accusing her of being a creature from legend. Please ignore the prince, his mind is clearly no longer in reality.”

“It’s quite all right, I find him most entertaining.” Ariel answered, smiling more in relief than humour over the situation. The prince continued to protest but the arrival of help held his tongue. Allowing the humans to help her, she was brought to a carriage that would take her to her temporary new home.

The bed was the softest thing she had ever had the joy of sleeping on, but the fabric of the dress the servant had dressed her in made her feel weighted down. The corset was the worse, practically cutting of her breathing as it held everything to a standard of beauty that she did not share. As her feet were placed in shoes with low heels, she found a new source of hatred for the way humans chose to dress. Tenderly she made her way across the room, allowing the servant girl to help her as she simply couldn’t figure out how humans walked on their own. Why were they not falling over all the time?

“How would you like to wear your hair?” The servant asked as she began to run a brush through Ariel’s long locks. Her hair had never been dry before, this she found she liked as it ran smoothly through her fingers and made her features softer and more feminine.

“Wear my hair?” Ariel repeated, thinking of the shells she had worn in her hair as decorations back home. Was this what the servant girl meant?

“If you don’t mind, could I do as I will?” The girl asked, sensing Ariel’s hesitation. Agreeably Ariel let the girl plait her hair, styling it as the girls in this kingdom must wear it. It was an elaborate style and Ariel found she liked it greatly. Happily she complimented the girl for her efforts, embarrassing the girl with her praise.

“Really, this is nothing,” The girl reassured Ariel. “I wonder if the prince will like it?”

“Last he saw me I was naked in the sand, I’m sure anything is an improvement.” Ariel replied, making the girl blush at the very idea.

“What happened to your clothes?” She wondered, as a knock on the door distracted her thoughts. She hurried to answer it, even more surprised to find the prince on the other side.

“I heard you were awake, I’m sorry if I disturbed you.” Eric apologised. Shyly the servant girl bowed before rushing out of the room, leaving the pair alone.

“Are you such a frightful presence that you make women flee when you enter?” Ariel asked.

“Not at all, I wouldn’t think so,” Eric said thoughtfully. “It’s just that I’m a prince and that humbles people. Not you though. Were you someone of importance in your own home?”

“You could say that.” Ariel admitted, realising she was admitting to much. If he found out she was a princess he’d ask about her kingdom and then everything would be over.

“I know what you are, that you’re only pretending to be a shipwrecked girl,” Eric accused her, thought his voice was still kind. “There’s no need to be afraid of me, despite the stories I heard growing up about your kind I know it was you who saved my life yesterday. Thank you, Ariel. If that is your real name?”

“It’s my name,” Ariel confirmed. “Why are you so sure I’m a mermaid? Aren’t they just stories?”

“I wasn’t as drunk as my men thought, I only pretend to keep up with them,” Eric answered. “I remember clearly the mermaid in the water. I know her face. So please, stop playing pretend. If you want this to be our secret, I will tell nobody. Wait, is that why you are here? To ask me to keep my secrecy?”

“You would really keep it all secret?” Ariel asked, her hand moving to her mouth as she realised, she had misspoken. She had as good as confessed! Only perhaps that wasn’t so bad? Eric had just promised to keep things secret and she felt like she could trust this man.

“Of course, it’s all I can do for you.” Eric answered. He didn’t realise that it had been she who had sunk his ship, with Dominic’s help, if he had he wouldn’t be so kind. His saviour, it was a strange thing to think that was how he thought of her. She wasn’t worthy, she had been the one to put his life at risk in the first place.

“When humans learn of my kind, it never ends well,” Ariel declared. “Greedy, wrathful humans attack my kind, forcing us to flee from our homes.”

“Demonic mermaids lure sailors to their death, my people fear your kind, it’s not anger that brings us to wage war,” Eric corrected. “But now I know you are kind and I hope you think the same of me? There’s no need for war, I want merely to know the truth of your kind.”

“It’s forbidden for me to tell you anything,” Ariel protested. “But that’s my stupid father’s rules. Ask your questions. I don’t mind. As long as you promise to never tell another mortal soul.”

She could have left, she should have left, but the company of prince Eric was so delightful Ariel couldn’t bring herself to leave. He was charming, funny and kind and entirely infatuated with the stories Ariel shared of her home. In return, Ariel was enchanted with the prince and his life and the pair had quickly become inseparable. She had even learnt to find affection for his dog, which wasn’t scary at all now she had grown used to his rather large presence.

It was the morning of the third day, the day she would need to return to the ocean, when the stranger arrived at the palace. She was beautiful on the surface but there was something off about her that made Ariel uneasy to meet her. Her long dark hair and deep brown eyes seemed familiar, as did her smile. Another mermaid here to bring her home perhaps, Ariel wondered, this woman certainly had the look of the sea about her. It was then that she realised who this woman was, where she had seen her face before.

“Ursula?” Ariel called out in her shock, yes this was the face of her aunt when she had been young.

“You know this trader?” Eric asked, glancing between the two women in surprise.

“She’s my dear aunt. Ursula, this is prince Eric.” Ariel introduced the two.

“I know Ursula, she trades here often.” Eric informed Ariel gently. Ursula came here? That meant this spell was easy, The Sea Witch could change her form at will. Did that mean her split tail had been just as false? Doubts began to cloud her mind but Ursula was laughing with the prince now, a shared joke from her previous visit and before Ariel knew it, they were all going to enjoy tea and cakes in Eric’s private dining room. Before the tea was even poured Eric’s dog began to growl at Ursula, sharing in Ariel’s reservations over Ursula’s presence here.

“That dog always growls at me,” Ursula remarked, smirking as Eric took the dog out of the room. “Ariel dear, why is he still alive?”

“He promised to not tell a soul and I believe him.” Ariel answered.

“How naïve, you can’t trust that human.” Ursula warned, unable to say more as Eric returned. With her aunt’s words in mind Ariel couldn’t enjoy the sweet treats. Had she been wrong in her feelings? Swept away by a handsome smile and jokes that made her sides hurt in laughter, she had forgotten who she was and why she had come. No, Eric was truly good, of that she was sure.

As Ariel put down her cake fork, her aunt was encouraging Eric to come and check her merchandise. She left the prince no room for rejection and helpless Eric left the room, leaving Ariel alone for the first time since she had entered the palace. What was a girl to do here all alone, she wondered before deciding she would very much like to spend the time with Eric’s dog. She hurried to Eric’s bedroom to search for the animal, surprised to find that the dog was not there.

“You are not allowed in these rooms without the prince’s permission!” A guard behind her thundered at her. “Ursula was right to warn us to keep an eye on you! Arrest her!”

“I’m prince Eric’s guest!” Ariel exclaimed, putting up quite a fuss as she was dragged out of the room. What was happening here? Surely it was all a misunderstanding, Eric would come for her and they’d laugh at how silly all this was. It didn’t feel silly though, in fact the cell she had been locked in felt cold and damp. Shivering she sat on the hard bed wondering why she, who had spent a lifetime in the water, was so bothered by the sensation of being wet right now. For hours she sat but Eric did not come, what was going on? Did Eric even know she was here? Surely not, for if he did he would have come to visit her already.

As day became night and day again, Ariel woke to find her legs had merged into a tail once more. The guards were staring at her, shouting to each other in panic and shock as the true identity of their prisoner was revealed. Many commented on how the prince had been right, mermaids did exist and Ariel was one of them. Desperately Ariel tried to calm them but all that came from her mouth was a series of clicks, too high pitched for the humans to hear.

She’d been concerned before, now she was frightened, there was no way she could get to the ocean in this form even if she did escape. Humans were ruthless, cruel, why had they turned on her the day before? Surely it wasn’t such a crime to step into the prince’s room alone? She had only been looking for his dog. Why hadn’t Eric come? He would believe her and let her go but now she wouldn’t even be able to tell him her side of the story. At least she could breath the air down here still, though the damp cell that had been too wet before now felt far too dry.

Food was brought to her but she found that the taste of all of it made her feel sick. She needed fish, that was what this body was used to. Hunger began to bother her, now she had thought of eating but no matter how she tried the human food did no good.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, prince Eric appeared by the bars. He looked at her sadly, ordering the door to be open despite the protests of the men who guarded this most precious captive.

“Really, she’s going nowhere,” Eric scoffed at the men before turning his attention on Ariel. “Is it true, is this poison yours?” He was holding the vial Ursula had given her, the poison she had snuck into the palace but had no intention of using. How could she tell the prince this? Nervously she gave a small sheepish nod of her head.

“Why don’t you explain yourself. Ursula said you came here to murder me! That it was you who had sunk my ship!” Eric exclaimed. All true, but so horribly twisted and wrong. She had never meant to harm Eric, or the other inhabitants of the ship. She had only wanted treasure. Eric’s anger was scaring her and she pulled away from him, shaking her head as she began to cry. It was so cruel that she could no longer speak to him! She’d die here for sure, her very presence in this castle would lead her kingdom to it’s doom. Had Ursula set all of this up? Had she been the one to tell Eric of the poison? It couldn’t be, no mermaid would betray the kingdom and merfolk unless… Unless they had a grievance with the kingdom and it’s king. Ursula had been banished. She had her reasons to want to bring misery and strife upon the king, the brother who had ordered her away, and she had used his own daughter to do it!

“Don’t just sit there and cry! Tell me what’s wrong,” Eric exclaimed, pacing the cell in frustration before sitting down at the edge of the bed. “Ariel, there’s no need to be afraid. If you’re innocent of all of this I can help you.”

Taking her hand to her mouth, she frantically shook her head, wondering if Eric would understand the gesture. To her dismay he watched her a moment before getting up to leave her all alone. Sobbing and gasping for air, she curled up on the bed and desperately tried to think of a way to communicate with the prince. In the end she didn’t need to, as the prince returned with paper and pen to hand over to her. Helplessly she stared at him, she couldn’t write in the human language but she could draw. Frantically she drew the picture of a ship, its treasure falling into her hands, followed by a picture of her saving the prince from harm. She drew the ruins of her kingdom with Eric as it’s oppressor. Ursula handing her two vials. The two of them dancing in the ballroom. She wondered if it was enough, if he would trust her to understand her message.

“You were stealing from the ship,” Eric said as he took the first picture, “But you didn’t want to hurt us? Is that what you are trying to say?” Nodding Ariel watched as he flipped through her hastily drawn pictures. “The poison is from Ursula. Did you mean to use it?” Frantically Ariel shook her head, before pointing to the kingdom in ruin. “If I was a threat? Then why were you in my room the moment you were alone?” Again Ariel took pen to paper, drawing his dog and sighing in relief as Eric smiled at her answer. He believed her, he understood, but then their shared relief turned to horror.

“Ursula has convinced half the palace that your people are a threat,” Eric informed Ariel, “She means to take these men and lay ruin to your home. We must stop her!” Shocked Ariel pointed at Eric, silently begging him to stop his men.

“Yes of course I’ll give them the orders to return, but Ariel, they took to the sea already. You need to warn your people to hide, that I mean them no harm, that this is a misunderstanding. I’ll stop my men, I promise. I’m trusting you by letting you go, but you must trust me.” Frantically Ariel nodded her agreement, she would speak to her father and admit all she had done. He would be furious, that she was sure of, but her father would listen. At least, she hoped he would. Her father wasn’t always predictable.

Ariel swam into the throne room, darting through the mermaids that were gathered here waiting for the king’s orders. The human ships were above with great fishing nets, but they hadn’t attacked just yet. The presence of the royal ship on the horizon had made them wait, at least that’s what she could only assume.

“Ariel! Where have you been!” Her father exclaimed, leaving his throne to swim to his daughter’s side. “Oh, I’m so happy you’ve returned. It’s not safe out there right now, the humans are attacking.”

“They’re not!” Ariel reassured him. “They left before their prince, he’s come to stop them. They’re his men, they will listen.”

“How do you know this?” The king asked.

“You’re going to be mad, but I don’t even care,” Ariel answered, quickly confessing all she had done. “So you see, the humans aren’t bad. Ursula had tricked them all.”

“Ursula, if I had known she had this power,” The king said thoughtfully, for once not consumed with anger. Perhaps he was too distracted, or relieved his daughter was safe, to find it in himself to be angry right now. “She turned against this kingdom once before, tried to steal my throne but your mother outsmarted her. I thought I had dealt with her treachery then, but it seems it wasn’t enough.”

“She tricked me, I see now why you call me a foolish child,” Ariel admitted. “I’m sorry father. Everything Ursula every taught me about ship raiding and her spells has led us right here. This is my fault just as much as hers.”

“It is your fault,” The king agreed, but he didn’t sound angry. “For that I think I must punish you.”

“Father no!” Ariel exclaimed, gasping as magic coursed through her. Once again she was becoming human, her body helpless beneath the water.

“Go to the prince, ensure he has brought peace.” The king ordered as two of Ariel’s sisters helped her to the ocean surface. Gasping for air Ariel looked around, spotting the prince’s ship and swimming there despite the weight of the sodden clothes her father’s spell had dressed her in. His magic was different to his sister’s, but it still felt very familiar.

“Eric!” Ariel called, relieved when a rope ladder was dropped for her to climb. She hurried onto the ship, wrapping the prince in a hug, soaking his clothes in the process. “My father is holding back his troops, he sent me to ensure that there was going to be peace?

“My men are already turning around, all but two ships. They’ve betrayed me,” Eric explained, pointing at the two ships in the distance. Ariel recognised the woman on one, Ursula and to her horror the man on the second ship wire the face of her guard Dominic! He had been working with her aunt, had he been a spy this whole time? “We’re going to have to use the cannons on them at this rate.”

“No need, we could cut the ships from beneath?” Ariel offered, shouting her sisters’ names over the ship. In a series of clicks the humans couldn’t hear, she explained her plan to the mermaids, who happily agreed to do as asked. “They need knifes?”

“Here,” Eric said, quickly retrieving two knifes and tying them to a rope to lower to the mermaids in the ocean below. The girls took the knifes and waved before vanishing beneath the surface. “You mermaids are dangerous to us humans, that I have no doubt, but humans are dangerous to mermaids too. It just takes a few bad ones to ruin things for everyone, doesn’t it?”

“I think you’re right, perhaps that’s why humans and merfolk never found peace?” Ariel agreed, watching as the two enemy ships began to sink. That was it then, the war had been prevented and now she must return to her father to face his full wrath.

“That and mermaids like you steal from us,” Eric said, “Don’t think I forgot that confession!”

“In my defence, humans were seen as monsters by our kind and we still made sure you had lifeboats!” Ariel protested. Shyly she turned to study Eric’s expression, surprised to find he was smiling at her words.

“Demons of the sea, the lot of you,” Eric answered, but he was pulling Ariel closer and then their lips were joining in a desperate kiss. “Don’t you go back in there, you need to stay with me, make right what you did to my ship!”

“Father didn’t say how long this spell would last,” Ariel warned. “Probably not long, he only wanted us to talk.”

“Couldn’t you…” Eric began, gasping as he saw the creature growing from the broken wreckage. “Ariel, what’s that?”

“Ursula!” Ariel exclaimed, watching as her aunt’s form grew into a huge and frightening beast. The Sea Witch was laughing manically as she struck down upon the human’s vessels that hadn’t yet departed far enough. Wreckage followed her path as she went, her anger at the humans who hadn’t followed her worse than anything the king could have ever done.

“Prepare the cannons!” Eric shouted, his men hurrying to follow his words. It was chaos on board the ship now, the temporary peace they had made gone as it became a frightful war against The Sea Witch. Worse, it was at that moment that the spell began to come undone. Diving over the edge, Ariel found her tail had already reformed. Desperately she swam towards her aunt, helping humans to relative safety where she could. Following her lead, a few other mermaids began to copy, each one looking scared as they took on Ursula’s monstrous form.

“Princess!” One of her own raiding party called. “We need to stop The Sea Witch.”

“How? I don’t have magic!” Ariel protested, but she smiled when a knife was handed over to her. “All right, if she wants to be as large as a ship, then we cut her like one!”

“That’s more like it!” The mermaid agreed, excitedly following Ariel with many other merfolk all carrying weapons. Her own sisters were there, at least the two who had helped her before, looking entirely out of their league but more than willing to help. The mermaid pod dived deep, swimming upwards to hack at the long tentacles that held The Sea Witch up. Ursula’s howls were loud and frightening, her anger turning below the waves as she tried to fend off her attackers. They were many though and she was only one, for ever strike she made, several new cuts appeared on her body, bleeding black blood into the ocean. Above the waves cannon fire could be heard, the humans fighting with the mermaids against this common enemy.

“Pull back!” A voice of authority called. The king had come to put a stop to this war. For once Ariel obeyed without questioning, watching her father finish of the monster before them with a powerful lightning bolt he had summoned from the heavens. And just like that, the threat to both kingdoms had been ended. The limp body of a black tailed mermaid floating on the surface was all that remained of the monster they had all helped to fight.

Ariel waited sheepishly for her father to stop screaming at her. She deserved this tirade of anger, longer than any she had ever heard before. She wondered if he was even going to give her a chance to speak, but then to her surprise he stopped and wrapped Ariel in a tight embrace.

“My dead child, don’t ever frighten me like that again!” He finally finished. “Do you have any idea how distraught I was when I had no idea where you had gone?”

“I’m sorry father, I was trying to fix my mistakes.” Ariel apologised. She expected him to shout at her about making things worse, but instead her father gave her a sad smile.

“My child, your mistakes are not yet fixed. You owe these humans for the destruction your actions caused. You owe your people for the fear and suffering you brought. I have no choice but to banish you.” The king finally decreed. Banished? Her? How could her father do such a thing to his own daughter!”

“Father!?” She protested. “Are you serious?”

“I’m deadly serious,” The king answered, was that a wink he had just given her. “I will cast a powerful spell on you to ensure you stay away. You will become human and live on the land. Only on your birthday will you be able to become your true self and return home. Do I make myself clear?”

“Human? Why?” Ariel protested. How was she supposed to live on land? This was so cruel!

“Come here,” The king ordered, whispering into Ariel’s ear as she got closer. “Your sisters reported that kiss you and the land prince shared. I don’t think your heart is with our people anymore. Is it?”

“My heart will always be with my family,” Ariel said, realising that this punishment was actually a gift. Her father wanted her to be with Eric and had found a way to do so. It was true, she had always loved the treasures of the land, had loved her time in Eric’s palace, somehow her father had figured out her true desires even before she had. “But yes, I will stay with the humans so that I can warn you should they become a threat.”

“That’s my girl,” The king said, handing Ariel a scrying mirror. “Use this if you need to report anything. As much trouble as you have always been, I will miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too father!” Ariel exclaimed, wrapping her father in a hug as she silently wished her old life a fond goodbye.

Ariel’s heart was racing as she was let into the palace, scared that the prince would reject her presence here. He had cared for her, but perhaps now they had spent some time apart he had begun to think about all the things she had done wrong?

“Ariel!” Eric exclaimed, wrapping the princess in a hug as his dog frantically barked and tried to steal Ariel away from him. “Why are you here?”

“Father banished me,” Ariel answered. “He said my punishment for everything was to live on land. Please, I have nowhere else to go.”

“Of course you can stay here, you don’t need to ask,” Eric exclaimed, gasping in shock as Ariel handed over the bag she had been carrying. “These are things from my boat!”

“I’m trying to make amends, I couldn’t get back what the others had taken, but you can have what was mine.” Ariel offered him.

“I don’t know what to say!” Eric admitted, “I suppose, welcome to your new home. Would you like me to show you to your room or do you remember where it was?”

“I remember, but show me anyway.” Ariel suggested, taking Eric’s hand as they headed for the stairs. It was going to be strange getting used to living here, to get used to the watching eyes that followed her everywhere she went, but she thought she could be happy and if not, perhaps some tearful begging would change her father’s mind?

Her favourite servant was in the room when they entered, the girl who had helped Ariel with her hair the first day she had stayed here. Excited the servant ran up to Ariel, smiling with true happiness as she took Ariel’s hand.

“Is it true, are you really a mermaid?” The girl asked.

“Not anymore,” Ariel answered. “But yes I was.”

“How exciting! You must tell me everything!” The servant exclaimed.

“Hilda, you can be Ariel’s servant again, but for now can you leave?” Eric requested. The girl, Hilda, nodded and hurried to do as she was told. The second the door was shut, the prince had wrapped Ariel in his arms and was kissing her with even more passion that they had back on the ship. Eagerly Ariel returned the other’s passion until her lungs began to burn for air and she began to feel light headed. Only then did they part for breath. This was it then, her happy ever after, or a punishment that would last a lifetime? She hoped it was the first, no, she knew it was the first. Eric was a good man, her heart had always told her so, ever since she had laid eyes on his beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that reminded her of the sky, of the world above the ocean, eyes that now reminded her of her new found home.

“Eric, I think I’m falling in love with you,” Ariel confessed. “You are the nicest man I have met and…”

“Ariel, there’s no need to tell me such things right now,” Eric answered. “Why not save such a confession for another time. Right now I want to hear all about what happened with your father to lead you back to me. How can a father punish a daughter in such a way? It seems so cruel.”

“No, he wasn’t been cruel,” Ariel corrected. “He was actually being very kind. He knew my heart belonged here, right next to yours.”

“If that’s so, then I must agree with his judgement,” Eric said. “For I can’t think of any company I would want more than yours.”

“Is that a confession too?” Ariel teased. “Could it be that you’re falling in love with me too?”

“Love is a strong word,” Eric said, “But yes, I just might be. Only time will tell and that we have in abundance.”

“Good, there’s just one more thing,” Ariel found herself confessing. “I’m here as a spy. If you humans threaten my father’s kingdom then I will report straight to the king.”

“Oh dear, there goes my plans to destroy your old home.” Eric teased, making Ariel laugh at the very idea. Eric would do no such thing! Cruelty wasn’t something the prince was capable of, at least Ariel didn’t think he was. In her eyes he was the perfect man and now she must learn to be the perfect woman so that she was worthy of being by his side. She knew she was up to the challenge. How hard could it be to follow the rules for once? It wasn’t like she missed raiding ships… Well maybe she missed raiding them, just a little, but now she had something better to keep herself occupied. Happiness was in her grasp and this time she wasn’t going to mess things up.


End file.
